Mount Leinster

Mount Leinster is 795 metres and the highest point of the Blackstairs Mountains, on the Carlow and Wexford border. A service road built for the RTE transmitter runs from the Nine Stones - a row of stones beside a car park at around 450 metres - almost to the summit, which makes this one of the easiest high summits in Ireland to reach: a walk of about three kilometres each way on a made surface, with a straightforward climb. The claim that nine counties are visible on a clear day is the local one and is plausible given the isolation of the range. The mast dominates the top and there is no pretending otherwise. The same road is a well-known hang-gliding and paragliding launch site, and the ridge walk south to Blackstairs Mountain is rougher and unmarked. Cloud and wind at the summit are frequent and the road is exposed.

The landscape

• The summit view - claimed as nine counties on the clearest days.
• The Nine Stones - the stone row at the car park where the walk starts.
• The service road - a made surface almost to the top.
• The gliding launch - a well-used paragliding and hang-gliding site.

When to go

April to October. The road is exposed and can be blocked by snow or ice in winter. Cloud sits on the summit often and removes the entire point of the climb.

Before you go

A transmitter mast occupies the summit, which spoils the top for some. The walk is on a road rather than a mountain path. Wind at the top is consistently strong.

Nearby

Borris and the Barrow valley are west; Bunclody and Wexford are east.

Key facts